American Smooth generally corresponds to the Standard category of the International Style of Ballroom Dancing, just as Rhythm generally corresponds to Latin. However, Smooth differs from Standard by including open and split shapes, whereas Standard uses exclusively closed positions.

American Smoothies differ significantly from standard dances as a result of the influence of dancers such as Fred Astaire and Arthur Murray in the years after World War II. While elegance and smoothness remain the goal, as in the International Standard, dancers do not stay exclusively in closed poses, instead they periodically break away from each other and experiment with open footwork.

American Smooth, like American Rhythm, is mainly danced in the United States and Canada, while the Latin American program in International style and International Style Standard are danced internationally, all over the world.